The Art of Travel Photography by Ossian Lindholm

Intro by Skip Cohen

It's a new tip from Ossian Lindholm.  As I read what he wrote I started thinking about "Travel Photography" - it's the one specialty EVERYBODY does, no matter what their core business might be. And, in all honesty, whether it's a DSLR, point and shoot or a cell phone, there's always an opportunity for more creativity.

Ossian is one of the industry's finest artists, environmentalists, filmmakers and educators. I love his simple approach to today's tip.  Even better, think about what it would be like to take a trip with him. You'll find him a regular member of the team on many of Travel Vision Journeys' trips. 

Ossian is also coming to Maine next month, June 21 - 27, to teach The Art and Craft of Mindful Travel Photography workshop at the Maine Media Workshop. This class will fill with 12 people. Just click the link to find out more.

by Ossian Lindholm


Travel photography has such a broad definition. It's about people, landscapes, flowers, animals and sometimes even pulls in the world of macro photography. However, there's one universal common denominator, no matter what your subject matter, you have to be creative. 

These images are from an estancia (ranch) in Patagonia, Argentina. It's called “Monte Dinero” very close to The Straits of Magellan. It was a cold, cloudy and windy day without a lot of colors and one of those days when you'd prefer to stay inside and read your favorite book in front of a fireplace.  But if you are a photographer you feel the energy in your body, you ignore the bad weather and decide to challenge your creativity. 

I was in front of a herd of sheep, and I thought to myself:  good situation to play with a slow shutter speed and show the movement of the animals. No matter how many images you capture on a trip or a project, you should always leave time to experiment.

Just to bring a different look and get something out of a flat-light kind of day, I had a tripod with me and decided to slow things down and pick up the movement of the sheep.  These two images were shot at  1/6 sec f 16 at ISO 100. 

While technically this is a tip on dragging the shutter, it's a plea for you never to stop experimenting. You're an artist. Your camera is your paint brush, and your canvas is everything around you!

Images copyright Ossian Lindholm. All rights reserved.